San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers Game Preview

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The San Antonio Spurs kick off their four game Pacific Division road trip with a game in Los Angeles against the Clippers tonight.

The game is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on NBA TV and FoxSportsSouthwest. The game can also be heard on the radio on WOAI 1200 AM.

How will San Antonio fare against Los Angeles? We take a look at recent history, injuries, and key matchups to predict the outcome of the game!

Recent Games

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs head into this game with a 2-3 record, their most recent match being a 100-99 loss at home to the New Orleans Pelicans. The loss was very surprising considering the Spurs’ veteran experience and the fact that Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili took the court after sitting out the previous game against the Houston Rockets.

There is some concern in San Antonio even though it is only November. The Spurs will be looking to put their fans at ease a little by hopefully improving their record to .500 tonight.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers come into this game following a close 106-102 victory at home over the Portland Trail Blazers. The game against the San Antonio Spurs tonight marks the second of a four game home stand for the team.

The Clippers started out the season 2-0 but have since gone back and forth, win loss. If that trend holds true, Los Angeles fans could be in for disappointment at the game.Still, don’t discount the Blake Griffin-Chris Paul combo.

Injuries

San Antonio Spurs

Marco Belinelli, Shooting Guard – Belinelli suffered a groin injury towards the end of the first quarter in Thursday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks. San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich put the shooting guard’s timetable around 7-to-10 days a couple of days ago. Expect his minutes to go to Austin Daye.

Patty Mills, Point Guard – Mills is still healing from surgery on his torn rotator cuff. Expect his minutes to go to Cory Joseph.

Tiago Splitter, Center – Splitter re-aggravated his right calf injury in the game against the Hawks and is expected to miss tonight’s game. He is expected to visit a specialist and remains uncertain for future games.  Look for Boris Diaw and Matt Bonner to pick up his minutes.

Los Angeles Clippers

Spencer Hawes, Power Forward – Hawes is dealing with a left foot strain that was sustained in the Los Angeles Clippers 121-104 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. The sweet-shooting big man did play in the Clippers most recent game, however and is considered probable for tonight’s game. Hawes plays behind DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin so it is possible for Glen Davis to pick up some of his minutes since he will be limited.

Key Matchups

Tonight’s key matchup is a battle of the guards, the shooting guards to be more specific. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul will most likely get their own so it is imperative that the San Antonio Spurs win the battle of the shooting guards to grab the win. The Los Angeles Clippers boast two of the NBA’s best sharp-shooters at the two with J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford.

SG. Danny Green has got off to another solid start this season averaging 10.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in increased minutes. Although his shooting number have not been as good to begin the season as they were last year, it is not too much of concern as the main reason behind that is because he was asked to create offense in the Houston Rockets game with Duncan and Ginobili out. Green’s defensive abilities will be of special importance tonight if the San Antonio Spurs want to come out with the win. The Clippers have a prolific combo at the two with Redick and Crawford. If the Spurs want to win, Green will have to stop these two.. SG. San Antonio Spurs. DANNY GREEN

Los Angeles Clippers. SHOOTING GUARDS . SG. The Los Angeles Clippers have two of the best scoring shooting guards in the NBA in J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford. The two combined average 33.7 points per game, nearly a third of the team’s total scoring (103.3 team PPG). Although some would consider Redick to be the weaker of the two guards, counting him out would be a mistake, just ask Portland. The former Duke star torched the Blazers on Saturday scoring 30 points on an impressive 11-of-13 shooting night. Throw in the Clippers are 4-1 when both of these guys play this season and you have one of the most dangerous two guard combos in the NBA.. SG

Prediction

The San Antonio Spurs bleeding is not going to stop tonight. The team will be playing its fourth game in six nights against a stellar Los Angeles Clippers team. That’s not a good recipe for success, especially considering the age on this San Antonio team.

Los Angeles will pounce on the reeling Spurs team and come away with a blowout win. This final result might be shocking for some fans but when you look at the injuries and age on San Antonio’s roster this result becomes a little more plausible.

Check out the score prediction below! (Note: Air Alamo is currently 3-2 on game predictions)

77. . 93. 29. 114

Next: Southwest Division Power Rankings: Week 2